Daily Reading 1: Everybody gets what they want

• Win or lose, everybody gets what they want out of the market. Some people seem to like to lose, so they win by losing money. I think that if people look deeply enough into their trading patterns, they find that, on balance, including all their goals, they are really getting what they want, even though they may not understand it or want to admit it.
• Source: Schwager, Jack D. (Editor), Market Wizards, HarperCollins (1989), page 172

The market is the market.  It does what it does.  No matter what it is that we are trying to accomplish, we get it.  When you win, it's because you wanted it that way, the same as when you lose.  More than likely, whatever it is that you are trying to achieve does not come easy to you.  Becoming great takes practice.  When you practice, you make mistakes.  This is what separates the good, the bad, and the great.  Most of the greats in the trading arena started out bad, but they were willing to learn from (and fix) their mistakes.

The greats are constantly learning.  For traders, it is not only important to learn what the markets are doing, but how to trade them.  They keep records of every trade and see what went right, or what went wrong.  Most discover that early failures come from a lack of discipline in regards to money management.  As soon as they correct that, they succeed.  They all, however, became successful after taking their early lumps, learning from and correcting them, and continuing on.  Because of this, they all got what they want.

The most important part for me to take away from this, is that you have to get out there and practice.  Practice with demo accounts or very small amounts of money, but practice, practice, practice.  Keep a trading journal to track every trade to see what went right and what went wrong.  Identify and correct all mistakes that I find in my trading, and have the discipline to stick with it through the good and bad times.  I am about to get what I want out of the market.

Motivation 3: Discipline comes from within

I believe that we have control over our brains.  I'm not talking about things like digesting food, or telling your heart to beat.  That stuff is on auto-pilot, and I'm fine with that.  I'm talking about the things that instinctively pop into our heads all the time that our minds overrule.  I am terrified of heights, but I manage to overrule that fear and fly, by reminding myself just how safe flying actually is.  I get anxiety over all the things that could go wrong, but I still get on board because I know how good the engineers are that designed the plane, how good the safety regulations are, and how great you have to be to become a commercial pilot.  I believe that I am in control.  It may take practice, but I believe we can over come most mental road blocks.  You can ask others what you need work on, but getting an honest answer might not be that easy.  What kind of friend would sit there and tell you your flaws?  In order to figure out your road blocks, you might have to sit down and just be honest with yourself.  Besides, you can't fix a problem unless you actually believe that it's a problem.

For me, a big mental road block has been my lack of discipline.  Without discipline, nothing else matters.......it's what keeps us on track to achieve our goals.  Things pop up all the time that try to knock me off my path, but I believe that I can ignore all the distractions and focus on learning, if I try hard enough.

Becoming great requires such a high level of sacrifice and dedication that I need to change the way I use my time.  The reason that I do this is for my family, so I will not use that time.  There is, however, time before work, during lunch, and after my son goes to bed.  With such little time, I can't afford to waste any of it on useless things.  I need to be disciplined enough to complete my daily checklist before wasting any time.

Another road block is that I'm a step-skipper.  I like to skim through a lesson and immediately go and try to apply it.  I need to be more disciplined and learn each step before moving on to the next.  I also need to practice more before doing anything for real.  So until I'm perfect, I need to practice.

The last area that I need to work on is that I am too quickly defeated.  Not that I think I'm a failure and stop trying, I just assume something doesn't work and stop.  I try different systems or strategies, and if they don't work immediately, I find a new one.  If I stick with something, however, I might get better.  Part of the strategy not working could be because of my step-skipping.  It is important to stick with things even if you fail early because it is amazing what you can accomplish in a relatively short amount of time.  You may not see the immediate results of yesterday or today's hard work, but when you start combining them you get better and better. and you will see it eventually.  I need to keep learning and keep practicing.

I truly believe that discipline comes from within.  Sometimes things do come down to "just how bad do you want it?".  If I want it bad enough, I will make time to study, practice, and complete all of my daily tasks.  I will also learn each lesson before moving on to the next, and see it through start to finish.  While I am learning I will practice on demo accounts and get perfect before moving on to live accounts.  Finally, I will stick with it even if I fail at the beginning.  Becoming great is a long difficult process, but it will never happen if I don't stick with it.  I guess I will find out just how bad I want it.

To keep my mind on doing what it takes, I have my checklists, notes, and pictures to remind me.  Reminders, however, are worthless unless I act.  In the end, it will be because of me if I succeed or fail......no one or nothing else.

Passive Income: Idea 1- Start a YouTube Channel

The whole point of the passive income retirement plan is to have money coming in that you don't have to work for....it just comes in.  Since starting and maintaining a YouTube channel is going to be a lot of work, it doesn't quite fit the true meaning of passive income.  However, once your channel is up and running with videos and you have followers, the ad money can begin coming in by people watching your videos.  So it is kind of similar to royalties.  And since I am already doing research and writing about things, I may as well make a video that might some day make me money.

Before we can even begin thinking about making money, we have to go to work and make a channel people will want to see.  If nobody cares about your content, then nobody will watch your videos and you will not get any ad money.  Since my channel will cover several similar subjects, I believe that I have content that people will search and that there is a good chance that someone will watch a short video that I post.  So the first step is to come up with a plan.

I already know who my target audience will be:  males, 18 and older, who are horseplayers, gamblers, chartists, or any individual looking up any of the Passive Income ideas I post about.  It seems like most people have a relatively short attention span, so my videos will be short and to the point, but still have the information they are looking for.  My channel will be organized into playlists for each different subject.

Once I have that situated, I will go to work on making a video.  To make it as professional as possible, I will start by making a script.  Since all of my information is already written down on my blog posts, this should not be difficult.  After I make the script, I will record the video.  I have a video camera and my phone to help with that.  Once the video is made, I will upload it to YouTube, edit, then post.

The articles that I have read make it seem like the key to developing a successful channel is to develop followers.  In order to do that, they recommend first focusing on making your channel a professional place that people will want to come to watch your videos, then worrying about monetizing it.  As soon as you have followers, you can monetize your channel for ad revenue, and sell merchandise.  I have found many places that will make cheap merchandise like shirts and other novelties that your followers might purchase.

I will post more once I try some things and make progress.  The goal for me is to have everything up and running by next year.

Motivation 2: No Days Off

Becoming great at anything takes hard work and a lot of it.  People use the word great loosely these days, but it used to mean one of the best.  That is how I use the word.  Also, instead of saying "the best", I am going to say "one of the best", because the discussion of who is actually "the best" is an exhausting pointless conversation.  If you're at the top and in the discussion, you're great, and that's what I hope to be......great.  So let me change my opening sentence in order to eliminate any confusion.  To be one of the best takes hard work.

The reason most people never become one of the best is because they are not willing to put in the hard work.  No matter what you're trying to accomplish, it is more convenient to pay someone else who has done the hard work to be great.  I get it, people are busy.  When an individual gets home from work they want to relax, not go right back to work.  The key for me is to have constant motivation at home.

Every room I walk into has something that reminds me of why I want to achieve my goals.  I have notes in my work area to get me thinking about what I want to learn, and remind me to spend time researching.  Even spending a small amount of time every day keeps me moving in the right direction.

I also use checklists that force me to see all of the areas I want to work on with the goal of checking the final box (did you complete all of the tasks?).  No matter how tired or unmotivated I am, the desire to check that final box makes me work and get better.

After my family, the most important reminders that I have to be great, however, are the pictures and posters I have around the house.  I believe that it is important to find things that motivate you, and display them to serve as constant reminders.  I have the race cards of past races that I won money on to remind me of what it feels like to win.  Remembering those races inspires me to go win more.  I also have a framed picture of Bill Belichick in my office.  Bill Belichick is a football genius who has become the most successful head coach in NFL history.

There are many things that he does that have brought him to this level, and I believe can make me better as well.  Belichick started out as a scout breaking down film.  He is the best at understanding what his opponent does in a game in every situation.  I would like to be the best at reading a chart and understanding what a stock or currency will do.  Another reason is his adaptability.  Each game-plan is unique from game to game depending on what the best way to beat his opponent that week is.  This can also help me, since no two races are the same, and no two charts set up the same way.  I would like to be more adaptable and wager or trade based on each unique situation.  Also, he does not get set in a set of rules as to how you win a football game.  Most geniuses think out side the box, and Bill is no different.  He develops creative formations and game-plans while other coaches are predictable and "do what they do best".  As I research Belichick more, I may find even more reasons, but the last is because of his preparedness.  Once he breaks an opponent down and develops a game plan, he has his players practice his many creative formations until they are able to execute whenever called upon.  When he needs an adjustment, his players and coaches are prepared.

The important thing to take away from this is that you have to find things that motivate you to work every day.  Do whatever it takes to get yourself thinking about your goals so that you can keep moving forward.  Whether you use these methods or come up some of your own, you have to find ways to get motivated.  Do not put it off!

Motivation 1: The Expanding Brain

When faced with a problem, the first step toward solving it is to ask the right questions.  In order to solve the problem of why I set out to learn certain things and then fail, the first place I need to look is within.  This is something most people never do.  They look outward for the cause, which is why most people never solve them.  Who or what is holding me back?  Everyone has an excuse for failure.

When I ask myself exactly what it is I am doing to cause my failure, a couple of things come to mind right away.  The first problem is that I don't make time.  I need to devote time every day toward reaching my goals.  The second problem is the subject of this post, and that is that I am stuck in my ways.

Most people will learn about a subject from someone or something, and that is how you do it.  You hear people all the time argue a topic and site only one source.  In a book I'm reading called Super Brain, it suggests that it's possible to expand your brain.  The reason most adults (myself included) fail at learning new things is that they get tunnel vision.  They learned something, and that's how it's done.  There is one way to do something, and if it fails, they fail.  The trick, then, is to open your mind to new ideas about the same thing.  Learning something new and expanding on the old information you already knew, will allow you to see things differently.  If what you have been doing is failing, then the solution is not to give up because it is impossible, but to try learning a new way.

For a baby, every day is a new world to explore.  They don't get set in a fixed pattern, they are constantly exploring, which is why their development is so great at that time.  As adults, we get set in our routines and never explore new worlds, which is why we stop developing.  With this blog I plan on constantly exploring new ideas in the subjects that I once failed at.  I will enter this new learning with an opened mind, and allow the new information to expand on the old.  Exploring new worlds usually opens people's eyes and encourages them to keep exploring.  If your brain is continuously expanding, then you are continuously giving yourself new tools to be successful.

Break the Rules

When it comes to solving problems, you can follow the rules or you can break them.  I was taught from a young age to follow the rules, and look where it got me.  Don't get me wrong, I love my life and my family, but I can't help but think that I'm capable of so much more.  I'm not suggesting breaking the law, I just mean the rules that the "experts" have established for the most common things we do.  Go to school, get a safe job, get married, buy a house, have kids, save your money, and retire at age 60.  All these rules do is leave us with stressful, debt filled lives with no guarantees of anything at the end.  It seems like the people who get ahead are the ones who break those rules.

One of the most brilliant minds ever belonged to Albert Einstein.  What helped make him able to solve some of the most complex problems of an unknown universe was his ability to avoid habits, conditioning, and stuckness.  His approach was to learn everything about a problem and then surrender to unknown possibilities.  He had no emotion or preconceived notions.

This is one area where I have struggled in the past.  I have subscribed to a certain set of rules and tried to succeed only to end up no better than anybody else.  This is where breaking the rules will come in for me.  I plan on studying different subjects and the different philosophies and techniques within them, but instead of following a set of rules, treating each situation differently and using all of my knowledge.

Whether it's handicapping horse races, reading charts, or trading,  I need to remove all emotion and preconceived notions.  I need to surrender to unknown possibilities and consider all outcomes.  Every situation is different, and I will be adaptable.